Party Store Prepares for Halloween

The kids are settled in school and you’re finally catching your breath. It’s mid-September and, as your mind wanders, you begin to think about . . . Halloween?

That’s right. Who’s ready for Halloween? Rick and Sheila Villata, that’s who. They own The , a.k.a. the Halloween Shop, near the corner of Spring Road and Los Angeles Avenue in the Moorpark Plaza, and right now their store is bursting with Halloween: costumes, makeup, lawn props, lighting, everything to do with the magical, scary, ugly and just plain weird.

This is not your average seasonal Halloween shop. In fact, this is really a party shop that stays open all year long, and when the season gets really busy, the owners bring in their three sons to help out.

The store opened in its current location 18 years ago. Rick is a retired L.A. city fireman. Sheila tends the store and is an organizational guru.

“We started off as a temporary Halloween store,” Rick explained. “Then eventually we decided to stay open full-time.”

The store is well known in the area.

“We get orders from as far south as San Diego and as far north as Santa Barbara,” said Rick.

And because Moorpark borders the homes of many Hollywood celebrities, word has also gotten out to the rich and famous. The Halloween Shop has served customers like Tommy Lee, Dick Van Dyke, and Corbin Bernsen. They even supplied SpongeBob SquarePants costumes for the cast on Saturday Night Live.

So how does a former fireman end up selling costumes and party supplies?

“I’ve always enjoyed the holiday season,” said Rick. “I like it when people get together and have a good time.”

You may think it’s a bit early, but right now, the Party Shop has Halloween products hanging floor to ceiling. No doubt they’re ready for the season. What’s even more impressive, the store, with all of its goods packed to the gill, is neat, clean and well-organized. Rick credits Sheila with keeping the store ship shape.

“People walk in and tell me that we have more stuff then places five times bigger,” he said.

So, after 18 years, why not move to a larger location? The simple answer. Customer familiarity.

“People know where we are,” he said.

As for the hot costume this year, Rick says there’s no easy answer to that question. Superheroes, pirates, Mardi Gras, Harry Potter are big. Even Luigi, Ghostbusters, and the Ninja Turtles are in demand.

Notice the last three. That’s right. The ’80s generation has come of age.

“Everyone who grew up with ’80s movies and TV shows, now they’ve grown up,” said Rick.

But this is a different century. It’s 2011 and who hasn’t noticed an abundance of zombies and vampires popping up on their screens? Shows like Twilight, True Blood, The Walking Dead, and the movie Zombieland have certainly influenced many costume choices.

And so have certain pop icon darlings: the Kardashians, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry.

The Vallatas get some unusual requests as well.

“I had someone who wanted to be a vending machine,” he said, “and we helped him out. We’ve also done garbage trucks, bananas, slot machines, sumo wrestlers and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.”

How kids react to all this scary stuff really does vary. Some love it and some are genuinely frightened to come inside.

“Sometimes a kid will get scared and run out,” Rick said. “But that’s okay because they’ll sit on the bench outside and we’ll bring the costumes out to them.”

The Moorpark Party Store stays busy throughout all the major holidays. From now until spring, they will jump from one event to the next: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras, the Super Bowl, St. Patrick’s Day, and, of course, a slew of local theater productions. They carry professional makeup, wigs, props and novelties—anything that requires dressing up.

So, yes, it may be mid-September, but if you have a party or two in mind this fall, it’s never too early to start thinking about costumes. And if your imagination starts to run wild, the Villatas are ready to help you.

“We do a lot of special orders,” said Rick.  “People say about us—if you can’t find it here, you can’t find it.”

The Moorpark Party Store is located at 530 N. Los Angeles Ave., Suite 111, in Moorpark. You can check out its costumes and party gear online at www.halloweenunlimited.com.